SAAC Collects Nearly 2,000 Pounds of Food

St. Mary's City, Md. – It's only appropriate that on Giving Tuesday we showcase how the student-athletes at St. Mary's College of Maryland have given back to the local community. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is truly overjoyed by the efforts exhibited by the Seahawk varsity teams as they came together to raise nearly 2,000 pounds of food during the annual SAAC Food Drive in conjunction with the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Food Challenge.

With additional help from the parents and fans of the St. Mary's men's and women's basketball teams, SAAC was able to collect the most pounds of food this organization has ever raised in their seven years of competition as the final tally ended up at 1,880 pounds.

All canned goods were delivered to the Food Pantry at St. Cecilia's Church in St. Mary's City. The Food Pantry provides, free of charge, groceries for the families who live south of Hermanville Road in Lexington Park. SAAC has now raised over 5,500 pounds since joining the Challenge in 2011.

"From the first executive board meeting in August, we made it our mission to increase the number of cans that were donated. We're so thankful and proud of our student-athletes for increasing our weight by 1,500 pounds. I think this shows the giving and caring spirit our student-athletes have, reflecting their servant leadership. We could not be more grateful for the effort they put behind this initiative," expressed SAAC co-advisors Jason Childs and Erin McDonnell.

In addition to raising the most food ever, the Seahawks also finished the highest ever in the CAC Challenge, coming in fifth in the 10-school field. St. Mary's bested Southern Virginia University (1,386 lbs.), Marymount (Va.) University (1,200 lbs.), Wesley College (500 lbs.), Salisbury University (425 lbs.), and Penn State Harrisburg (250 lbs.).

The CAC Challenge concept was initiated by the University of Mary Washington SAAC leadership in a challenge to the other conference members at the organization's Fall 2010 conference meeting. Each participating school picks any 10-day period between Oct. 1 and the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day to collect food for a local charity.